that Peter and Andrew had now no other object than to gain the nearest shore;. whereas the others would desire to take their cargo to the point near Capernaum where fish was usually landed. At all events, that some interval had elapsed is shown by the circumstance, that by the time our Lord, with his two followers, arrived at the place where the sons of Zebedee landed, they had discharged and sold their cargo, and were occupied with their father and hired servants' in repairing the damage the nets had received. The former acts precede the latter; for the first anxiety of fishermen on reaching land is to dispose of their fish, before they find leisure to mend their nets.

When our Lord came to the place where they were thus employed, He at once called James and John to follow Him; and they obeyed as promptly as Peter and Andrew had done. They also left all to follow Him. And that was not much, some have remarked, in either this case or the other: a boat and a few nets! It was more. It was a forsaking of the place —of the homes around which, for them, all the charities of life were gathered-of the friends and neighbours with whom they had been accustomed to associate-and of the relations in whom their hearts delighted. It was an abandonment of the habits of life to which they had been used, and of the occupation in which alone they were skilled, and which furnished their subsistence and this to attach themselves, not to one who was rich or great, or who could or did hold out to them any worldly advantages; but to One who was as poor as themselves, a workman like themselves, and One with whom they were often to suffer peril, hunger, and thirst, and who could not assure them of a place where to lay their heads. Whatever they left, it was their all, and was as valuable to them as may be the house or land, the library, the office, the shop, of any one who reads this. No one can leave more than all he has; and the 'all' of these disciples seems to have been underrated. We do not even now consider the owner of a fishing smack and nets a poor man; and in the case of John and James, their vessel seems to have been one of size and value, for. it is re

corded that they had hired servants' (at least their father had), who were engaged with them in mending the nets, when Jesus called John and James away. These hired servants were doubtless fishermen, paid by wages of money or fish, who went out with Zebedee's sons in the boat. The old man himself seems not to have been in the habit of going out upon this night-work; nor needed he to do so when he had such sons, and could afford to hire labourers. Hence his presence is not recognised until we find him helping the others in mending the nets. Zebedee himself, as well as his wife, were probably believers in Christ; accordingly the former, although present when the call was given, made no opposition to the withdrawal of his sons. This is the only time, indeed, that he appears personally; but his wife we shall hereafter meet with, under circumstances which place beyond question her belief in Jesus as the Messiah.

Thirty-fifth Week—First Day.

'NOT AS THE SCRIBES.'-MARK I. 21, 22; LUKE IV. 31, 32.

On the Sabbath-day following the miraculous draught of fishes, our Lord made his appearance in the synagogue at Capernaum, and availed himself of the usual opportunity, which the rules of the synagogues allowed, of preaching the gospel of the kingdom. The reception which He here met with was very different from that which He had experienced at Nazareth. We are informed that his hearers were astonished at his doctrine;' and why? For He taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.' It was, in both matter and manner, something new, and strange, and startling; and coming in the demonstration of the Spirit, and of power,' it carried its own evidence along with it, working strong conviction in their minds.

It will be well, however, to consider what was the teaching of the scribes, with which that of our Lord so strikingly and favourably contrasted.

And here it is important to observe, that in some of the particulars in which the teaching of Christ differed from that of the learned teachers of his day, it differed also from that of Christian teachers. The scribes could only declare what they found set down in the writings of Moses and the Prophets, and their exhortations could only expand and enforce that which was understood to be the meaning and full purport of what they found written there. Had they brought forward any novelties not to be found in these ancient Scriptures, or not supposed to be fairly deducible from their contents, they would have laid themselves open to the charge of heresy. applies equally to Christian teachers, who have no authority to put forth any new doctrine, and no right to build on any other foundation than that which Christ and his apostles have already

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laid; and who begin to stumble and fall among the dark mountains, so soon as they wander from that RECORD which has been left as a lamp for their path.

But here, where Jewish and Christian teachers feel equally bound to the records of their faith, Christ was altogether free, and spoke as one who claimed to be, as one who was, HIMSELF a sufficient authority for all He uttered, and as by no means bound to appeal to law or testimony, although He often did so, to silence the gainsayers or to convince the doubters. He spoke as one who was himself a lawgiver, equal to Moses, superior to Moses, and as one entirely competent by his own proper authority to abrogate any old law, and to establish any new law, without being accountable to the powers on earth, before which others bowed. His doctrine was his own. His mouth was a sufficient law to himself and to the world. Others said-others still say, Believe this, for it is written there. But He always says, 'Verily, verily, I say unto you.' He says, Believe this, because I say it. No one before Him, nor any since, could ever speak thus; and, therefore, with great truth and with just perception of the distinctive qualities of his teaching, his auditors on one occasion declared, 'Never man spake like this man!'

But there was another very serious point on which the teaching of the scribes at this time and since differed from that of our Lord, and from that of every sound and 'able minister of the New Testament.' They not only were of necessity tied to Scripture, but they voluntarily tied themselves to certain interpretations; nor did any one attempt to gain, or expect to gain, attention to the exposition or interpretation he offered, without producing for it some antecedent authority. No preacher ventured to declare what appeared to himself the right view to be taken of any text of the law or of the prophets; but invariably would say, 'Our rabbis, or our wise men say so and so ;' ‘Our ancient doctors thought thus and thus.' The name of the particular rabbi or doctor was also usually given, and the tenets circulated were judged rather by the renown of the name than by the weight of the opinion. The great doctors whose names

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were most frequently heard at that day, were Hillel among the Pharisees, and Shammai among the Sadducees. But the rabbinical writers have left a tradition concerning Hillel himself, which curiously illustrates this mode of teaching, and shows that even he was obliged to submit to it. The great Hillel taught truly, and according to the traditions respecting a certain matter. But although he discoursed of that matter all day long, they received not his doctrine, until he at last said, “So I heard from Shemaia and Abtalion."'

This kind of teaching went for little but to display the memory and the learning of the teacher. It was to the hearers flat and unprofitable. It was also low; for while it affected to be high in scholarship and knowledge, the teachers inevitably spoke as those who were not themselves masters of what they preached. Thus the word, even if in itself good, could not come from them with any life or force. It was not from the heart; it was not aimed at hearts, and it did not reach them. But the teaching was not intrinsically good. It was full of curious questions and vain janglings that edified not, and brought no refreshment to thirsty souls; while the teaching of Jesus, as shown in the Sermon on the Mount, to which the same observation is appended as on the present occasion, was open, plain, grave, animated, direct, and useful. These are qualities which teachers who cannot speak with the like authority, may imitate; and those who are 'wise to win souls,' and who have no care but that, will do so, and may expect that God will not suffer his word, thus poured forth, to return unto Him void.

Thirty-fifth Week—Second Day.

THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT.

MARK I. 23-34; LUKE IV. 33-41; MATT. VIII. 14-17.

THE people in the synagogue at Capernaum had seen and had borne witness that Jesus was 'mighty in words;' they had now to behold that He was likewise mighty in deeds.'